The Community of Hope



The Community of Hope

[pic]

An invitation to

participate in a ministry

of Saint John’s Episcopal Church

Tulsa, OK

What is the Community of Hope?

The mission of The Community of Hope is to create and sustain a Christian community of volunteer lay pastoral caregivers united in prayer, shaped by Benedictine spirituality and equipped for and serving in pastoral care ministries.

A Christian Community

We are a community, based at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, including people from different denominations. We are a community without walls led by volunteers dedicated to living Benedictine spirituality every day, caring for the sick and needy and greeting others as Christ.

Shaped by Benedictine spirituality

Benedictine spirituality is a way of life that helps us to seek God and God’s will daily. Community is formed during the initial training and sustained in monthly meetings thereafter. In community we worship, pray, and study so that we can be formed by and centered in the love of Christ, listen for God and go to do the work God has given us to do. Core values include stability, obedience to God, personal transformation, humility and hospitality.

Equipped to serve

The curriculum teaches skills and helps people discover their ministry from the foundation of living out the Gospel. We choose to be formed through the wisdom developed through the Rule of Benedict. We serve out of our spiritual center.

In pastoral care ministries

We learn to listen compassionately to others and seek to respond to their spiritual needs through seeing Christ in them and being Christ for them.

Members of our Community of Hope offer themselves in a variety of settings both within their churches (home communions, ministry to the homebound, bereavement support, hospital visiting) and in the community (at St. John Medical Center as lay pastoral volunteers, in various retirement and nursing homes, at Clarehouse). Members have developed new ministries as their imaginations and discernment have revealed opportunities.

The Training

The Community of Hope training builds community, develops spiritually centered pastoral caregivers and helps individuals discover and better understand their own spiritual gifts for ministry. The group meets weekly in 3-hour sessions, for a total of 12 sessions including a final retreat. After successful completion of the training and a three-month internship, participants are commissioned during a Sunday service.

Some of the topics covered include: theology of pastoral care, Benedictine spirituality, listening skills, prayer, boundaries and pastoral identity, confidentiality, grief, discovering who you are, exploring ministries, and several practice visits.

Local pastors, community service providers, and topic experts serve as our faculty.

Community Partners

We have partnered with the Pastoral Care Department since 2007 to provide training for those wishing to serve as lay pastoral visitors at St. John Medical Center.

We complete our practice visits at Saint Simeon’s, an Episcopal community meeting the diverse needs and desires of the growing population of elders.

The Circle of Care

After completing the initial training and being commissioned, all trained lay pastoral caregivers continue to be nurtured in an ongoing community, called Circle of Care. In monthly meetings we continue to deepen our spiritual life, enjoy continuing education, talk about our ministries, and participate in retreats and quiet days.

Interested?

▪ Fill out and submit an application to the address below.

▪ Training classes (minimum class size: 6) are scheduled at least annually. Next class starts February 18, 2013.

▪ Classes are from 6 pm to 9 pm at Saint John’s Episcopal Church.

▪ Cost is $60 for materials and scholarships are available.

More information needed?

Contact the COH training facilitator Karen Kelly or the Rev. Susanne Methven at

Saint John’s Episcopal Church

4200 S. Atlanta Place

Tulsa, Oklahoma

74105

918.742.7381



Our Community of Hope has trained 59 persons over the last 5 years from Episcopal, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian and non-denominational churches.

We extend an invitation to other congregations or organizations who would like to participate in the training. We would encourage you to contact the Rev. Susanne Methven about specifics of how this ministry might benefit your congregation or organization.

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